Saturday, 1 p.m. PST, Channel 2You can...
Saturday, 1 p.m. PST, Channel 2
You can now safely argue the Southeastern was not college football’s best conference this year in light of disappointing seasons turned in by Auburn, Louisiana State, Tennessee and Georgia, but you can’t argue about the best teams. Alabama and Florida have risen to the top, at least in the Associated Press poll, and now meet in Atlanta for the SEC championship. The winner earns a trip to the Bowl Championship Series title game on Jan. 8. The SEC has won the last two national titles, so why not make it three straight? Alabama (12-0) is not a great offensive team yet, ranking No. 53 (out of 119) overall, but the Crimson Tide’s third-ranked defense has been good enough to keep opponents away from the end zone. Florida has won eight straight since an early-season loss to Mississippi. The Gators (11-1) are No. 3 in scoring offense at 46 points a game. Florida’s offense will suffer if injury limits Percy Harvin, but the Gators have speed to burn.
The pick: Florida.
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Florida
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 19 Missouri
Saturday, 5 p.m. PST, Channel 7
Two schools Texas defeated this year meet for the Big 12 championship in Kansas City, Mo., while Texas sits home at 11-1 cursing the tiebreaker rule that kept it out of this game. Hey, not a bad game to watch, though. Oklahoma (11-1) leads the nation in scoring at 53 points a game, getting 60 or more in its last four wins. Missouri (9-3) stubbed its Tiger toe last week against Kansas, but still brings a potent offense. Missouri averages 45 points a game and ranks fourth in passing offense and sixth in total offense. In last year’s Big 12 title game, Oklahoma wrecked Missouri’s bid for a national title berth and this year Missouri gets the chance to return the favor. The schools didn’t meet in the regular season, but Oklahoma won both games last year.
The pick: Oklahoma.
-- Chris Dufresne
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